Resurgam
by Gabs
Summary: One word on the tombstone: resurgam. 'I will rise again...'
1. resurgam

Resurgam  
Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine, so don't sue, cuz I have sporks and I'm not afraid to use them.

The early morning fog drifted slowly through the small cemetery, hanging heavily in the hazy gray sky. Two dark figures broke through the mist, their focus locked on one distant gray stone and their faces obscured by hoods. They carefully weaved their way through the various rows of headstones. To any observer unfamiliar with the pair, they might appear to be lost. But lost was one thing they were not.

They made their way through the foggy vapor, seeming to be in no particular rush. Soon enough, they came to a stop in front of one lone headstone. One of them leaned down and ran a hand over the three words inscribed on it.

"Very fitting," he commented. Pulling her hood down, Irina nodded.

"Resurgam. It means 'I will rise again,' correct?" Irina nodded once more.

"And did you come up with that?"

"Yes. It seemed perfect," Irina said softly, kneeling to pull a stray weed from the cold ground before the stone.

"Quite appropriate. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It's understandable. Besides, you're here now, she understands. We had better not linger much longer. The sun is rising, someone will surely be here soon." Irina placed a single flower on the tombstone. After a moment of contemplative silence, they each stood and began to walk away. Before they could get very far, he stopped and turned back. Irina paused, waiting patiently as he stopped towards the small gray marker and again looked at the inscription.

"Sydney Bristow- Resurgam," he whispered. He nodded slowly, pondering the significance of the words.

"We need to leave," Irina said softly. He didn't move.

"Adam. Let's go." Shaking himself form his reverie, he turned and looked at her apologetically. Pulling her hood back over her hair, Irina led Sark back to their waiting car.

       I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with this, it was just an idea that kinda came to mind this morning… is it worth it to keep going? 


	2. enigma

Ok, so I know it's been a while… forgive me!

Don't recall if I mentioned it or not (methinks negative on that, captain) but this is pre-Phase One.

{6 days earlier}

"Sloane may not be as foolish as you seem to believe him to be," Sark commented. Sydney was startled by his sudden appearance at the side of her desk.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Sark raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes seeming to dance with a secret knowledge.

"Everyone has secrets." With that, he was gone. Sydney stared after him anxiously, unable to puzzle out what he had meant by that comment.

"Are you all right?" Dixon was suddenly at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Oh… uh, yeah, I'm fine. He just kinda unnerves me sometimes." Dixon gave her a reassuring smile.

"It doesn't show." Sydney shot him a grateful look.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Dixon added as he turned to leave.

"Bye," Sydney replied, somewhat absently. She took some more time to finish paperwork before gathering her belongings and heading out.

She made her way to her car and got in, putting her stuff on the passenger seat as she started the vehicle and put it in reverse. A glance at her side view mirror caused her to quickly hit the brakes. The bemused face of Mr. Sark was staring back at her. Sydney shifted into park and threw the door open, stepping out in annoyance.

"Have you been waiting here the whole twenty minutes since you left?" she demanded. He made a noncommittal face, and she rolled her eyes.

"I assume you're standing there for a reason, and not just to stalk me." Sydney stated. An amused look flashed through Sark's eyes

"As fun as stalking may be, that's certainly not what I'm doing. I'm simply here to warn you again: all is not what it seems."

"Warnings are generally more effective when they're understandable," Sydney said irritably.

"What's so hard to understand about that?" Sark questioned.

"Only all of it," Sydney retorted.

"It's not that difficult. Just keep in mind the fact that Arvin Sloane couldn't have gotten as far as he has by being an idiot… and that the bad guys aren't always the bad guys," he added.

"That sure cleared things up," Sydney said sarcastically. Sark's expression suddenly became deadly serious.

"Don't play dumb, Agent Bristow. Your life may well depend on it." His change in temperament, as well as his cautionary words, left Sydney momentarily speechless. Sark seized that opportunity to walk away from her again. Sydney slowly got back into her vehicle and resumed her aborted attempt at leaving. As she drove, she mulled over what Sark had said. She quickly made a decision, and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Francie? Hey, it's me. Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be a bit late tonight, because-"

"Work again?" Sydney laughed nervously

"No, actually, I'm just going to go see my dad."

"Oh really? That's great Syd, take your time!"

"Thanks Francie. Don't wait up if I'm really late. He and I have a lot to talk about."

"No prob, Syd. See you when you get here, or in the morning!"

"Ok. Bye Francie!" Sydney hung up, then dialed her father.

"Bristow," he answered, sounding somewhat tired.

"Is this a bad time?" Sydney questioned.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, instantly sounding alert.

"I need to talk to you," she said vaguely.

"Fine. You know where to go?" 

"Yeah. I'll see you there." Sydney tucked her phone away and turned towards the warehouse. She briefly considered calling Vaughn, going so far as to draw up his initials and number on her cell phone, but then decided against it. She could talk to him tomorrow.

When she pulled up to the warehouse a few minutes later, Sydney could see her father's car parked in the shadows. She parked quickly, and hurried in.

"Hey Dad."

"Sydney. Is everything all right?" she could see the honest concern in his brown eyes.

"I'm not sure." She proceeded to tell him about her conversations with Sark. Afterwards, he was quietly thoughtful for a few moments.

"We can't take anything he says at face value. On the other hand, we can't be certain that playing mind games is all he was doing. We both need to proceed with extreme caution in terms of Sloane and SD-6. Tomorrow, I'll talk with Kendall about this. In the meantime, be very, very careful." Sydney nodded.

"I hope I didn't disturb your or anything," she said. His eyes softened perceptibly.

"You're never a disruption, Sydney. Take care of yourself, and call me if anything happens. Anything at all." She smiled at her father and watched him walk away. As she walked out, she made the decision to go see her mother first thing tomorrow. Going back into the bitter cold of the dark night, Sydney was filled with a feeling of foreboding. A light fog was beginning to settle over the city. As her father's car pulled away, the headlights dispersed the mist, and she waved at him. Getting back into her car for the short drive home, Sydney's thoughts once again turned to the enigma that was Sark.


	3. truth

I made a wallpaper/cover art thing for this today… it's posted at my message board. Here's the link if anyone wants to look: 

        Sydney slept very little that night, Sark's serious words reverberating in her mind.

        _Your life may well depend on it._

        She finally gave up trying, throwing back the covers and deciding to take a shower. She stopped briefly to look outside her window, observing the gray sky of the early morning before the sun had made an appearance. Nearly ten minutes later, Sydney realized that she hadn't moved yet. The sun would be rising again soon, dispersing the darkness and mist, and she needed to get moving if she wanted to see her mother before reporting in to SD-6. 

        She took a quick, hot shower, hoping the heat would help to disintegrate Sark's warning. It didn't. The phrase haunted the forefront of her consciousness, not loosening its grip on her sanity. 

_Your life may well depend on it._

When she approached her mothers cell a short time later, Sydney still hadn't drawn any real conclusions. She was beginning to believe that, one way or another, Sark had discovered her double agent status- and so had Sloane. It was the only logical explanation she could come up with.

"Sydney?' She suddenly became aware that she had been standing in front of her mother, saying nothing, for a full minute. Irina was staring at her, looking worried.

"Hi," Sydney said hesitantly.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" 

"No. I mean… yeah. Kind of."

"What is it?" Sydney explained, briefly but thoroughly, the incident with Sark. Irina listened quietly, waiting for her daughter to finish before commenting.

"And you think he knows your double agent status?"

"More importantly, I think Sloane knows."

"Have you told anyone this?"

"I talked to Dad last night, but I didn't tell him that."

"Why not?" Irina sounded angry, and Sydney frowned slightly.

"I wasn't thinking of that last night. I was still trying to figure out what Sark meant."

"You're not going in to SD-6 today, are you?" Sydney's momentary hesitation was all Irina needed.

"Why? If you operate on the assumption, the hope, that Sloane doesn't know, you could be setting yourself up for a painful fall Sydney. You know this."

"And if I don't go in, don't call in, Sloane will suspect something for sure Mom. I can't take that chance."

"But you can take the chance of him killing you the moment you walk in the door?"

"He wouldn't do it that way."

"I know that Sydney. It may have been slight hyperbole, but it got my point across, did it not?"

"Yes, it did. But if he becomes suspicious, the first thing he'll do is go after Francie and Will. I can't let that happen."

"I understand your concern Sydney, but-"

"Here's what I'll do: if I don't get in touch with Vaughn by 9, he'll know that something's wrong, and that I need help. After 9, I'll check in every two hours. If the CIA has turned anything up, he'll let me know." Irina considered the idea for a moment.

"Don't take this lightly Sydney."

"I'm not Mom. I promise." Irina nodded.

"Be safe."

"I will." Sydney called the guard over and asked for pen and paper. He quickly produced the requested items, and Sydney scribbled a note to Vaughn, explaining the situation.

"Can you get this delivered to Agent Vaughn?" The guard assured her that he could, and she turned back to Irina.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, before turning and making her way out.

Once outside, Sydney could see that the sun had come up, and the foggy gray darkness of the early morning Los Angeles sky had melted into a warmer blue. A quick glance at her watch revealed the fact that she only had 45 minutes to get to work at SD-6. She took a shortcut home, changed quickly, and headed back out just as Will and Francie were waking up.

When she walked into Credit Dauphine ten minutes before 8, the first thing she saw was Sark, working on a computer. He didn't even glance up as she walked by. As she reached her desk, her father stuck his head out of his office.

"Sydney, a minute?" she nodded to him, quickly turned her computer on, and headed for his office.

"Take a seat," he offered, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" she questioned. Jack sat behind his desk, and pulled out his pen, signaling that they had one minute.

"You went to see Derevko?"

"I wanted to get her opinion on what happened with Sark."

"And?"

"She doesn't think I should have come in today." Jack frowned, prompting Sydney to continue.

"Dad, I think Sark knows. I think Sloane knows." Jack's pen beeped, and he put it back into his pocket.

"Thank you Sydney, I'll see what I can find out." She nodded to him and returned to her desk. After taking a moment to get everything in order, she realized that she had neglected to grab any coffee that morning. With a sigh, she headed for the break room.

She had just slipped in and poured herself a cup when she heard the door click shut. She looked up, less than surprised to see Sark standing there. He moved to grab himself some coffee, coming to a stop right next to her. 

"Why are you here?" he hissed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied in the same quiet tone.

"You may not give my words much merit, Miss Bristow, but in this case, it would be in your best interest to take heed." The steely look in his blue eyes brought back memories of what he had said to her previously.

_Your life may well depend on it._

They stared at one another silently for a long moment before Sydney turned and went back to her desk. She could feel Sark's eyes drilling a hole through her as she walked. She ignored him.

Half an hour later, she sent Vaughn a text message before going in to her father's office.

"I haven't seen Sloane at all today," she noted quietly.

"Neither have I," Jack replied. He said nothing else, but his eyes told her everything she needed to hear: _something's not right. Be careful._ She returned to her desk and worked quietly, keeping a careful eye on everything around her. She noticed an unusual quietness; she hadn't been the only one made curious by Sloane's absence.

As lunch approached, Sark appeared by the side of her desk.

"Care to grab a bite?" he queried. His tone was pleasant, but his eyes were serious. He had only asked as a courtesy; Sydney could tell there was no way she would get out of spending her lunch with him.

"I'd love to," she gritted through a forced smile.

"Pleasant," he responded in the same tone. A few minutes later, they were both in his car, on their way to a local park. As soon as they were walking to a vendor, Sark spoke.

"I'm sure you were perplexed by Sloane's disappearance," he began.

"You're quite the quick one," Sydney shot back. He stopped walking and glared at her. She returned the look with equal malice.

"You really make me wonder why I even bother trying to help you," he growled.

"Help me?" Sydney questioned.

"Surely you don't think I go around warning people for the fun of it."

"With you, one would never know." This earned her another dour look.

"If I had a bit of logic, I would leave you to your own devices… only I swore I wouldn't. Fine." He fell silent, and Sydney tried to puzzle out his random ramblings to himself. He spoke again before she could get anywhere.

"Sloane knows." Even though she had suspected it, the news still took Sydney's breath away.

"More than that… he's targeted Mr. Tippin and Miss Calfo. There's a team heading for your home as we speak."


	4. safety

Heh… anyone remember this fic? I dunno about that… but if anyone's actually still here, thank you!

"Sloane knows." Even though she had suspected it, the news still took Sydney's breath away.

"More than that… he's targeted Mr. Tippin and Miss Calfo. There's a team heading for your home as we speak."

Sydney felt herself go numb at Sark's words. She would have frozen in her tracks if not for his hand on her back, forcing her to continue moving.

"What do you mean?" she gasped. He gave her a look.

"You know full well what I mean, Agent Bristow. Sloane has discovered your double agent status, and as such, has sent a team to kill Mr. Tippin and Miss Calfo."

"I have to get there… I have to stop them…" she tried to turn around and head back to her car, but he stopped her.

"Really now, Miss Bristow, what could you possibly hope to accomplish against a Security Section team?"

"I don't know, but I can't just let them die!" she hissed.

"No… of course you can't," Sark said dryly. "That's why I've sent a team of my own to intercept them and take your friends to safety." Sydney stared at him in confusion.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you- supposedly- helping me?" Sark smirked, sharking his head lightly.

"Suffice to say, Miss Bristow, I have my own reasons for everything that I do."

"Suffice to…? No, absolutely not. That sad excuse for an explanation does not suffice, not to me. I have zero reason to trust you, Sark, and yet you're asking me to do absolutely nothing about a Security Section team targeting my best friends. No, you have to give me a reason." Sark, for the first time in Sydney's memory, lost his cool.

"You request a reason, Agent Bristow? Fine. Here's my reason: if you try to save your friends yourself, the only possible outcome is the death of all three of you. If you call your father, it's doubtful he could stop it. If you call the CIA… well, it's the CIA. By the time they deem it appropriate to take action, it will be far too late. My men, however, are in place already, with no governmental red tape to stop them from doing _whatever_ necessary to save your friends. Reason enough for you?"

"Quite honestly? No. That's not good enough. But I can see that I won't get any more out of you, and I can also see that this is the best way to save Francie and Will."

"The _only_ way," Sark cut in.

"That's debatable," Sydney muttered.

"No it isn't," Sark replied.

"Well then, let's not debate it," she shot back. Sark smirked again, earning him another glare. "So what next? You save my friends, and then what? I owe you my soul? My first born child, perhaps?" Sark rolled his eyes.

"You owe me nothing. But, I will keep the child offer in mind."

"It wasn't an offer," Sydney growled.

"That's debatable," Sark said glibly.

"No it isn't. And would you wipe that smirk off your face? It's really getting annoying." Sark's smirk only grew in response to her agitation. "I'm not in the mood… I can't handle this right now, Sark. Is that what you wanted to hear? You're basically in complete control of the situation. Are you happy now?" Her words, surprisingly to Sydney, had the desired effect, as the trademark smirk had suddenly vanished.

"No, Agent Bristow, I'm not happy, nor am I in any semblance of control here. One man is in control, and we have no idea where he is right now. 'Happy' is the last thing I am." Sydney had long since tuned him out, lost in regret and worry for the safety of her friends. After a moment, she faced him again and questions began pouring out, almost against her will.

"When do I get to see them again? I need to know they're ok… and what are they being told? Anything? They can't hear the truth from your men, whoever they are, that isn't fair to Francie. But they won't cooperate if this team of yours just barges in and-" Sark cut her off quickly.

"I don't know what they're being told, Agent Bristow. I only got word of this… development moments before I requested your company for lunch. There was no time to outline any kind of plan. If you'd like, I can call them right now and ask them to keep things secret if they can. But you must understand, if that's the only way to save your friends-"

"Then that's the only way. I know that," Sydney said quietly. Sark stepped away, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a cell phone.

"I'll make that call now." Sydney nodded, numb.

"We need to get back to SD-6… I need to call the CIA," she said as he returned to her side. Sark looked at her curiously as they walked back to his car.

"Why?"

"You mean aside from the fact that I'm a CIA agent?" He shot her a dour look, and it was her turn to smirk. "I promised to check in every two hours."

"So you suspected this?"

"How could I not, after what you said last night?" His words flooded her mind again as she thought back. _Arvin Sloane couldn't have gotten as far as he has by being an idiot… the bad guys aren't always the bad guys…_ she took a moment to study him intently as he focused on finding his key and unlocking the car. When he glanced back up a moment later, she was looking into the distance, showing no sign of having been watching him.

"I'm surprised you actually paid my words any heed," Sark noted as he started the car.

"You're not the only surprised one," Sydney replied dryly. Sark didn't respond, nor give any indication that he'd even heard her, but she knew he couldn't have missed it. She turned and looked out the window idly, again worrying about Francie and Will. When she glanced over to Sark again, it was to find him handing her a phone. She took it hesitantly, looking at him in confusion.

"You said you needed to call the CIA, correct?"

"Well, yes, but I was going to wait until we got back to the office." Sark gave her a look.

"After everything that's happened, you think we're still going back to SD-6?" he questioned. She frowned slightly.

"So where are we going?"

"You're worried about your friends. I'm going to assuage that concern."

"You're taking me to see them?" Sydney asked quickly.

"Well, that's what I was trying to imply, yes."

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, voice full of surprise. Sark didn't reply verbally, merely sent her a glance to acknowledge the words before turning back to the road in front of them. Sydney placed a quick call to let the CIA know she was ok, but decided to hold off on telling them that her fears had been confirmed. If Sark noticed her hesitance, he didn't comment.

"When do I get answers? Real answers?" Sydney questioned, handing his phone back to him.

"All in due time. I know, that's not what you want to hear. But right now, there are more important issues to be dealt with."

"Such as?" Sark slowly pulled the car into a dark garage, and Sydney guessed it to be the place where Francie and Will were waiting.

"Such as the two people inside this building who are awaiting answers from you, Agent Bristow. Tippin may have some idea of what's going on, but Miss Calfo is utterly in the dark. We have a minimum amount of time to get them truly to safety; Security Section could easily track them down here." He started to step out, but noticed that Sydney hadn't moved. With a light sigh, Sark sat back down and looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know how to do this… what to say to her…" she admitted, quickly wondering why she would share such insecurity with Sark.

"Neither do I, but what I do know is that if _you_ don't tell her now, someone else will later. From which source would you prefer to have her find the truth?" Sydney nodded and got out of the car. Walking into the building, she instantly spotted Francie and Will sitting on a comfortable looking couch, both with untouched food and drink resting on a table in front of them. Neither took notice of her until she stepped into the meager light of the room. Both jumped off the couch, almost simultaneously, and took a step towards the one person they knew they could trust. Will looked at her knowingly, Francie fearfully. Sydney took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Hey, guys… there are a few things I think I need to tell you."


End file.
